was hailed; but, although a light had been seen on board, no answer was returned, and some apprehensions arose that the stranger might prove a royalist vessel of war, sent from Callao to intercept the Vigie. Miller seized the speaking trumpet, hailed them in English and in Spanish, and threatened that a broadside would be fired from the Peruvian brig of war Congreso, unless an immediate answer was given. The cry of Viva la Patria was then heard, and a boat was immediately sent from the Vigie. Two fishermen were found on board the schooner, which had arrived with some fugitive patriot soldiers from the Puertos Intermedios. The fishermen had been sent on board, by the patriot governor of the province, to take charge of the vessel. They could not state positively which party held possession of the town of Supe, although they were certain that the landing-place was clear of royalists. Miller immediately stepped into a canoe, but did not get on shore without being thoroughly wet by the surf. He walked to Supe, two leagues distant, and found the town nearly deserted. He, however, procured horses from a montonero party, which, on the preceding morning, had had an affair with the royalist advanced post, and on the next day he set out to join Bolivar. At the picturesque village of Marca, two days' march from Supe, commences an ascent of two leagues, that terminates at the apex of a lofty mountain, which, on a clear day, is visible to the mariner fifty leagues from land. From this aerial platform, one of the noblest and most enchanting prospects in the world bursts suddenly upon the eye. Towards the coast lies a frightful waste, a lifeless breadth of barrenness, a sea of sandy billows, bounded by the Pacific Ocean. Looking to the eastward, the Andes rear their summits to the clouds, and form a barrier of unparalleled grandeur. A basin, of one hundred miles in circumference, appears to be scooped out amidst the highest Andes, and, containing mountains within its hollow, is bounded by ridges, which, rising in endless succession, are streaked with midway clouds, and the most distant mantled with snows coeval with the creation of the world. Standing on the mountain cupola of Marca, the village of Requay appears to be immediately beneath the feet of the wondering traveller, although from the tortuous descent it is at a distance of more than four leagues. To the north of Requay stretches the romantic vale of Huaras, where numerous hamlets enliven the mountain hollows, while single houses at every elevation stud the ravines, and contrast their whiteness with the luxuriant foliage which half conceals them. The happy valley imagined by Doctor Johnson may be called a miniature sketch of this unequalled panorama, and from which it might be thought the Abyssinian prince would scarcely have wished to roam, were it not that, on approaching the dwellings, that look so beautiful at a distance, the traveller is disgusted with their filth and wretchedness. It is only the daring pencil which pictured Belshazzar's Feast, the Fall of Nineveh, and the Deluge, that could, with commensurate grandeur and fidelity, transfer to canvas such a scene as this. Placed on that majestic eminence, a Martin would acknowledge, that even his own lofty conceptions fell far short of the towering sublimity and incomparable beauty which nature has here combined. On the 19th of May, Miller reached the head quarters of General Bolivar at Huaras, in the vicinity of which place the liberating army had begun to concentrate from its cantonments of Caxamarca, Guamachuco, and Caxatambo, in order to commence offensive operations. Its number of effective men did not fall short of ten thousand. The distribution of the royalist army was as follows: About nine thousand men with Canterac in the valley of Xauxa; about five thousand with Valdez; and about five thousand with Olañeta. The two latter generals were in Upper Peru; but the Spaniards considered the forces under Canterac to be more than a match for Bolivar, and consequently thought the aid of the Army of the South might be dispensed with. CHAPTER XXIII. Montoneros. Measures preparatory to the campaign of 1824.Liberating army advance from Huaras.-Passage of the Cordilleras. Salutary measures of the Dictator. GENERAL MILLER, upon his arrival at Huaras, had the satisfaction of seeing General Bolivar for the first time, and on the following day was named commandante-general of the Peruvian cavalry. The beautiful, extensive, and thickly peopled valley of Huaras had become the scene of active preparations for the ensuing campaign, which was expected to commence, by the march of the army, in about six weeks. In the meanwhile, Miller was ordered to cross the Andes; and, on the 13th of June, he set out to take the command of fifteen hundred montoneros occupying the country round Pasco, The road, of continuous ascent and descent, was through a part of the country which abounds in scenery of inconceivable boldness and magnificence. Straggling habitations were frequently seen perched on elevations, or sequestered in the recesses of ravines, and added greatly to the beauty of the landscape; but ignorance, poverty, filth, and apparent wretchedness, were the lot of the Indian cottagers. To these may be added, the despotism of the priest, who is usually the only person, in rather extensive villages, who can read and write. He has not at all times the inclination, but he has always the power, to lord it over his parishioners with the authority of a Turkish bashaw. On the sixth day of a most fatiguing journey, Miller arrived at Huánuco, a pleasant town, occupying half a league square of ground, and containing about four thousand inhabitants. The streets are rectilinear, and each house has a garden, in which are grown pine apples and other tropical fruits in abundance. The climate is agreeable. Miller remained three days at Huánuco, where he inspected two squadrons of Peruvian cavalry in quarters there. On the fourth morning he set out for Pasco, which was held by the patriot montoneros. The montoneros in Peru, like the guerrillas in the Peninsular war, were of incalculable service as an auxiliary force. They were principally composed of men of some respectability, whose habitations had been razed by the unrelenting vindictiveness of the royal party, which had often turned into wildernesses spots where towns and villages formerly stood. Every montonero had to avenge parents, children, relatives, or neighbours, who had been butchered by the Spaniards. To the above class of once substantial yeomen were added many idle and profligate characters, which are always to be met with in turbulent times. The montoneros were cruel and unrelenting towards their foes; but, although they served without pay, they generally conducted themselves well towards the unoffending inhabitants: from this praise, however, must be excepted those parties which were formed principally from the dregs of the populace of Lima. But even the latter frequently behaved with |